Primitive Initiative™- Getting Up Progressions

After we learn to crawl and before we learn to walk, we must learn to get-up off of the ground. This may seem simple to some, but for others this becomes very difficult without the aid of holding onto something. And to certain populations, falling to the ground is quite scary because they are just not strong or mobile enough to get up on their own (queue the cliché “help, I’ve fallen and can’t get-up” commercial). This is a real fear, something that may be inevitable, but can certainly be delayed through training. As always, progressions of getting up off the floor is crucial. There are several ways to “bring the body up off of the ground from a laying position to an upright position”. I will go through the progressions of one of the more common ways of doing this: the Turkish get-up.

Reach Crunch– Lay face up. Feet will be on the ground, knees in the air. Take your right arm and reach it straight to the ceiling. Keep your low back on the ground but lift the right shoulder off of the ground.

Reach and Roll– Lay face up. Keep your left leg straight on the floor and left elbow out on the floor perpendicular to the body. Keep your right foot on the ground with you right knee in the air. With your right arm reach it straight to the ceiling, lifting your entire torso up off the ground by rolling to your left elbow.

Reach and Roll w/Bridge– Do the reach and roll. At the end of the reach and roll, press into the ground with your right foot to lift your hips in the air, while rolling to your left hand. Make sure you are still reaching your right arm straight to the ceiling.

Half Turkish Get-up– Do the reach and roll w/bridge. Pull your left leg underneath your body so that your left knee ends up directly underneath your hips. End in a kneeling lunge stance. Make sure you are still reaching your right arm straight to the ceiling.

Split Squats– In a standing position, place your right foot in front of your hips and you left foot behind your hips. Lower your hips so that your left knee is about an inch away from the ground. Make sure that both knees come to 90 degree angles and you torso remains perpendicular to the ground.

Lunge Kneel to Stand– Kneel on the ground with your right foot in front and your left knee down underneath your hips. Stand up from this position and bring your feet together.

Full Turkish Get-up– Do the half Turkish get-up and then the lunge kneel to stand. Make sure you are still reaching your right arm straight to the ceiling.

Keep in mind that all of these progressions are done unloaded. The most important thing is the form and the ability to get up off the floor. Loading will come later, and would have more steps to add in the progression so that the participant will be able to do this safely and effectively. Check out the video on our Facebook page to see the progressions.